


Loophole

by Mizuki_San



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Gen, inspired by a picture from tumblr, timeloop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:50:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2265198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizuki_San/pseuds/Mizuki_San
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As tears rolled down his face, he cried out, "Marco! Run! We have to run! We have to get out of here-," but then he felt him shift a bit away. </p>
<p>"Jean? You're acting weird..." </p>
<p>Suddenly stuck in a time loop, Jean has to relive the Battle of Trost in order to save his friend from his death, hoping that one day, there will be a loophole to all of this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loophole

**Author's Note:**

> READ AUTHOR'S NOTE. VERY IMPORTANT.
> 
> (If you also saw this on Fanfiction.net, I am its author on that site too!)
> 
> AN: Okay, I got this idea of from a picture I saw on Tumblr. I saw it from a blog called Shingeki no Dance Crew, and it was about Jean getting stuck in a time loop, where he tries to save Marco from his death. I'm not quite sure if anyone else written this kind of a story, but I'm going to write it on my take. I have absolutely no clue if others wrote this, I JUST GOT INSPIRED BY THE POST
> 
> TITLE: Loophole
> 
> SUMMARY: Tears rolled down his face, choking on his words. "Marco! Run! We have to run! We have to get out of here-," he felt him shift a bit away. "Jean?You're acting weird..." Suddenly stuck in a time loop, Jean has to relive the Battle of Trost to save his friend from his death, hoping that one day, there will be a loophole to all of this.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: All rights to Isayama!

Loophole 

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

 

"Jean!"

He groaned, moving himself away from the voice.

"Hey! Jean!"

Annoyed, he pulled the his bedsheets over his head and wrapped it around himself.

"Jean! We're going to be late!" the owner of the voice shook his arm, but in response, Jean scooted further away. "Ugh, come on! Get up!"

He felt his bed shifting down and his bedsheets ripped away from him, exposing the cold air to his skin.

"Jean! Jean! JEAN!"

"Marco, shut up!" he roared, tossing one of his pillows at him. 

Grasping his ankles, Marco used all of his strength to pull Jean out of his bed. What Jean didn't expect was for him to completely fall off his bed and face planting the floor. Immediately, Jean kicked away his friend and got up, as he rubbed his head.

"The hell! You couldn't do something else different?"

"Jean, come on. I know we just graduated, but it doesn't mean you should be sleeping in. We have to clean the cannons of the walls, come on!" Marco informed.

Letting out a sigh, Jean nodded. "Fine. Let me change." _Damn. Just enlist me into the Military Police already. I don't want to do this kind of stuff._ "Let's get this day over with already..."

Marco couldn't help, but shake his head in disappointment at him. "Jean..."

 

.

.

.

.

Jean didn't realize how much can happen in a day. Only in a day, he went from cleaning the cannons to hearing about the Colossal Titan destroying the walls. It went from peaceful and boring to chaotic within seconds, as everyone gathered around to split off into squads. What he wasn't expecting was for recent graduates themselves to immediately fight.

In less than a day, he witnessed so many deaths, blood, and screams that he felt like throwing up. In less than a day, he found out that Eren himself was a Titan Shifter, and that a new plan given to all the troops was to follow Commander Pixis's plan.

In less than a day, he escaped death many times, but was saved by his three other teammates. And here they were, watching hell take place in Trost, planting themselves on the walls.

In less than a day, Jean told himself he made so many wrong calls, only to be supported through his comrades. But this decision he was going to make was absolutely the one he regretted the most. He reminds himself that he shouldn't have made that decision. But yet he did.

They were safe from the Titans. They could have stayed there on top of the walls, but when he saw Eren carrying the boulder, he couldn't just stand there and watch others die in front of them while they stood in the back. Up from the walls, he saw Mikasa and Armin, rookies straight out of training, running in front of Eren, protecting him with their own lives to ensure the first victory of humanity.

But he here was, watching from the walls with Connie, Annie, and Marco.

So he made his decision. A fateful decision that would ultimately lead up to his friend's death.

"Don't let them interfere! Protect Eren!" he commanded.

The others, determination and fear in their eyes, agreed upon his orders and followed suit, aiming their grapple hooks on the sides of buildings. Slicing through the air, they flew into the depths of hell, hoping that Eren would be able to complete his part of the plan.

Jean had confidence in his squad. They were the top ten in their 104th Trainees Squad, the best of the rest. They stood as an example of what soldiers should be, and why it's important to stand tall and proudly salute upon their hearts to humanity.

But all he cared about before was getting into the Military Police to live a good life away from the Titans.

Everything happen so suddenly. Just this morning, he wanted to finish the protecting Trost so he can fully enroll into the Military Police while the rest of his class can face the nightmare surrounding them. But now here he was, fighting against titans, and leading some of the top ten graduates to protect Eren. Yet, he still had the thought of joining the Military Police floating in his mind. But the ripped bodies and blood of his own classmates flashed in his thoughts. He tightened his grip on the handle of his blades, only to have a hand touch his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jean! Eren can do this! We will get through this! Trust me," Marco smiled.

"We are the best, aren't we?" Connie smirked.

Annie just stared at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Jean's eyes went from Marco to Connie to Annie, and back to his friend next to him. Offering a smirk of his own, Jean lifted up his blade. "Let's do this then! Separate and take on a Titan!"

If he realized what would the result would have been, he wouldn't have made that decision.

.

.

.

.

A green smoke rose to the sky, and no one couldn't believe it. Humanity won its first battle against Titans.

There was hope. Jean stared at the boulder in disbelief. _Eren did it. We did it._ He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Jean smiled. Marco was right. They will get through this together, and perhaps, maybe join the Military Police like they always wanted to. But then Jean felt something tingle in his stomach. Or maybe, join something else that will contribute to something greater, he thought. The feeling of helping out something that give a victory for humanity made Jean feel strange. He wasn't sure why he felt it, but in some way, it just felt right.

Jean noticed that the hand was still on his shoulder, so he turned with a genuine smile on his face to his friend, who guaranteed their victory together. "Marco, we did-"

Instead, he saw Connie. "Nah, it's just me. Sheesh. After I helped save your life, you only care about Marco?"

Jean sighed. "Why? Jealous?"

Connie couldn't hold back laughter. "Hell no! Marco is all yours!"

For once, Jean let out a laugh with someone other than Marco. Someone other than his best friend. He didn't care as much because today was a victory that need have its own celebration, and this laugh was one of the moments where he can bond with others.

"Come on, Connie. Let's go find Marco and Annie," Jean motioned to him.

Connie smiled. "Whatever you say, _Squad Leader_."

.

.

.

.

Two days have passed and Jean didn't see Marco yet. It made him worry because the two would have founded each other already. Once they completed an assignment or task, the two would meet up and do something together. But two days passed, and he still hasn't seen his friend. The pass two days, Jean kept on the lookout for him. Whenever someone bumped his shoulder or passed by him, Jean would immediately look and try to identify who it was.

But none were Marco.

Frustrated, Jean became desperate and started to ask everyone around. "Have you seen Marco Bodt?"

Some heads titled in confusion.

"You know, uh, this tall," he motioned a hand higher than him his own head. Then he pointed at his own face, "Has freckles on his face. Brown eyes. Black hair. He never stops smiling. Um. Do you know who he is?"

"Yeah, I saw him, but not since Trost," one mentioned.

"No, I got no clue," another said.

Jean got many different answers, but none gave him a helpful lead. It pissed him off. All he wanted was just to find Marco and give him a pat on the back. He wanted to congratulate him on everything he did at Trost, and discuss which military affiliation to join. For some reason, Jean wanted to tell Marco that perhaps the Military Police wasn't the only option for them.

While in his thoughts, he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Jean?" His eyes widened.

"Annie?" He hadn't seen her since the time they split off from each other at Trost. _Maybe she saw Marco recently?_ "Hey, have you seen Marco?"

She stared at him for a quick moment. "No."

He couldn't handle it anymore. "What do you mean, 'No'?"

"I haven't seen him."

"When was the last time you did?"

"Since we separated."

"That's it?!"

"Yes."

"Why hasn't anyone seen him yet?!" He growled.

"Jean, all of us got assigned to clean up this mess, and Trost isn't small. It's likely that we won't see Marco until we finish," Annie explained, walking away from him.

He watched her distance herself from him, and all Jean could do was trust in what she said. _Maybe that's the reason I haven't seen Marco yet. But still. He would have try to find me even through this mess._

He decided to have trust in Annie's words and put on his gloves. Looking around, his eyes softened. There were too much death around him, and he wasn't sure whether he could get used to this. While picking up a body, he thought about how Marco was handling this situation. He wondered what Marco was thinking about all of this. He asked himself if this was a good decision to join the Military. Once that thought appeared in his mind, he began to question things even more such as would it a good decision to join the Military Police so they won't experience this again? Or perhaps maybe join something else?

Jean shook his head. _Now isn't the time to think about this. Just focus on cleaning this._

.

.

.

.

The sun began to fall behind the walls and the sky turned orange. Wiping off his sweat by using his bicep, Jean realized how much bodies he, the other soldiers, and nurses laid down next to each other. It was enough to cover at least a floor of a house, but it couldn't compare to the amount of blood splattered on the streets, on the their hands, and on their bodies. Everything was just a bloodbath.

Everywhere he looked was the color of dark red. It was as if everything was stained with blood. He couldn't stand it. Walking away from the pile of bodies, he decided to take a breather, but then he noticed a body laying against a building. Walking closer to it, his eyes widened and suddenly, time froze. He felt all the air he had in his body being sucked out of him.

"...Hey..." he looked at the body from the feet to the torso. "You're..." Then he looked at the face. Jean paled. "...Marco?"

His hands starting to shake so much that he couldn't control them anymore. The plastic gloves soon began to felt tight, as his hand muscles felt like they were getting limp.

"Trainee."

_**"Don't worry, Jean!"** _

"Do you know his name?"

_**"Eren can do this!"** _

_"...Since Trost."_

It all clicked. "I knew I hadn't seen him around..."

**_"We will get through this together!"_ **

"But this couldn't have happened to him...Marco..." he slowly turned to him. "What happened?"

_No, no, no. This couldn't have happened. It couldn't. Marco, it couldn't. It just couldn't. There has to be some kind of explanation._ As he began to walking away, Jean wondered out loud, "D-Did anyone...Did see how he died?" _Come on. He couldn't have just died like this! This isn't Marco. This isn't him._

"What's his name?" the woman persisted. "If you know, tell me now."

Jean stopped. This woman was getting on his nerves. All he wanted was some clarification, answers, or anything at all to prove to him that this was wasn't Marco. He glanced over his shoulder and met with wide, dead eyes that have seen much more deaths than he ever has. Those eyes looked like as if its owner lost life, meaning, or anything that was human. He felt he was staring at a dead woman walking the earth.

"Do you understand, trainee? It's already been two days since the hole was sealed, and we still haven't finished collecting the bodies. At this rate, there could be an epidemic. We must avert a second tragedy. There isn't time to mourn your friend yet. Understand?"

He couldn't stand it anymore. Looking away from the lady, he stared into the Marco's lifeless eyes and paled complexion. There was no more color in his ripped face, nor any freckles exposed. His smile was gone, and what was left of it was teeth sticking out. Jean was right. This isn't him. It wasn't Marco anymore. It was just another dead body about to be thrown into a fire.

"104th Trainee Squad," Jean felt a lump in his throat. "Captain of Squad 19." He felt his stomach drop. "Marco Bodt."

**_"Trust me."_ **

"Marco, then?" the woman scribbled down on her pad. "I'm glad we have a name." Walking away from him, she said, "Let's get back to work."

Tears didn't appear in his eyes. There were none at all. The only thing he could do was to stare at the decaying body in front of him; the body that once held the life of Marco Bodt.

.

.

.

.

"He hasn't been the same."

"What do you expect? ...M-Marco...Marco... died..."

"Even he died..."

"...I know."

"...But...But can you believe it?"

"Believe that he's joining the Scouting Regimen?"

"Yeah."

"No, but I can understand."

"Jean?"

He didn't want to look up. He didn't want pity from anyone. He knew that everyone sitting at the tables a few feet away from him were discussing about him. He already showed all the tears he had last night, and all he could remember was letting out choked cries. But above all, he remembered himself proclaiming to his other graduates that even he was joining the scouts.

"Jean?" He heard his name again.

Without looking at the person, he asked, "What?"

"Do you want to eat lunch with us? Mikasa and I...well...we want to invite you to join us. Everybody is sitting at our table! Come on-"

"I'm not hungry," Jean interrupted.

There was no response, but he still felt the person's presence right by him. Then, he felt another, and then some more joined him. Suddenly, his table became filled with people and plates stacked with food. He then felt touches on his shoulders, but none could compare to the one his friend gave him back at Trost. He couldn't cry anymore. He let out all the tears he ever had that he had a feeling that he won't be able to cry for quite a while. But, he wasn't planning to shed anymore tears. He was done with it.

"Then we will eat with you," Armin smiled.

"Yeah!" Sasha exclaimed, laying down a hand upon his wrist and giving it a tight squeeze. "I even saved you a bread roll for you! Well, half...sorry, Jean."

Connie rolled his eyes. "Wow, great job..."

Jean heard Reiner sitting across from him, calling out to Bertholdt and Annie to join the table, and to bring more food. A couple of inches away from him, he heard Ymir complaining to Krista about why she had to sit by Sasha, as the girl would try to steal her what was on her plate. But then he felt someone sit next to him and poked a bread roll on his cheek. Irritated, Jean looked towards his left and saw Mikasa holding a piece of bread in her hand. Shocked, his mouth opened slightly, but soon, his eyes widened like saucers, as he felt her suddenly shoving the bread into his mouth.

"Eat," she said.

Feeling the bread be pushed down even more, he heard roars from everyone in his table, cheering for him to eat it.

While looking away and grabbing the bread out of Mikasa's hands so he can eat it on his own, he let out a smirk and even a laugh. He couldn't believe what was going on. It was all surreal. His classmates were actually trying to console him!

"What the hell, guys!" Jean snarled, but he couldn't control his laugh. "How would you like it I shoved bread down your throats?"

"I bet you can't even reach the tip of my mouth," Reiner smirked.

"Want to bet?" Jean leaned in, challenging him.

"Do it!" Connie encouraged.

"Guys..." Bertholdt sighed.

The table soon began to cause a bit an uproar among the room, as Jean grabbed one of Sasha's many breads she had, and launched at his opponent. He aimed at Reiner's mouth, but then the blonde dodged it, grabbed his own bread, and stood up from the bench to try to compete with Jean. Laughter and cheers erupted from the table even more when Reiner managed to get a bread roll into Jean's mouth.

Crossing his arms and sitting back into his seat, he non-willingly ate the bread while some people gave Reiner pats on the back.

For once, Jean actually felt lighter and happier. He wasn't expecting any of his fellow teammates to come to his table, and try to cheer him up. While in the mist of the commotion among his other graduates, he felt his lips curl into a small smile.

_Only if..._

Then his eyes widened. Behind everyone in front of him, Jean saw brown, warm eyes looking at him with joy, and a smile that made his throat dry.

Realizing that it was just his imagination, Jean suddenly got up, causing the table to wobble a bit.

"Jean?" Armin touched his elbow, but Jean staggered back.

Without saying anything, he simply walked away while everyone watched him in silence.

"Sorry, Armin," Connie scratched his head.

"He hasn't been the same since..." Sasha murmured. "...You know..."

"Should we go after him?" Krista asked.

"Leave him alone," Annie stated.

To everyone's surprise, they all turned their attention to her. She hadn't said a word since she came to this table and watched in silence while everyone else interacted with each other. Waiting for her to continue, the group kept their mouths shut and remained still. "He needs time," Annie said, glancing behind her to see Jean shutting the door behind him.

Everyone stayed quiet for a few moments, contemplating on whether or not to chase after Jean. But no one moved from their seats.

"See you tomorrow then?"Sasha broke the silence.

Mikasa nodded. "See you."

"Hopefully we will be in the same military branch!" Connie nervously smiled.

.

.

.

.

It felt weird wearing the Survey Corps' uniform, but at the same time, it felt right. It felt that he was finally doing something that he should have been doing in the first place.

_Marco would have done the same._

Getting on top of his horse, he looked around at his other comrades. He wasn't expecting almost all the top ten in their class to join this branch. Many of them could have decided to live a safe life behind the walls of Wall Sina, but instead, they joined the wings of freedom. He could tell some had fear in their eyes and in their hearts, but so did he.

He didn't want to join the scouts at all, but it was something he must do.

Surrounded by everyone from the top ten, excluding Marco and Annie, and others outside from the top ten, Jean wondered how they felt.

Riding along side with his teammates, he felt nervous. He couldn't feel his fingers gripping the reins tight enough that he might as well fall from his horse. As the supporting team protecting them from the titans while they rode onto the green, wide fields, Jean tried to remain calm by keeping his focus. In the spacious, dangerous fields, Jean focuses all of his attention on the commander ahead of them, waiting for him to give the orders.

"Jean!"

Turning his head to his right, he saw Armin. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Do you regret your decision?"

Jean paused. _Do I?_

Noticing the hesitation to answer, Armin shook his head. "It's okay, Jean. I didn't mean to-"

"I...It's possibly the best decision I made in a while." The two shared a look with each other, and Armin understood what he meant. Riding off in silence for a few moments until Reiner came up next to Armin, he asked them how they were holding up.

Armin forced a smile. "Trying my best!" 

Jean just smirked. "Why, Reiner? You going to piss in your pants?"

Reiner laughed. "Nah, that's going to be you."

Suddenly, they saw Commander Erwin lifting up his left hand and signaling them to head out. "Go into long-range scouting formation!" He announced.

While the scouts soon began to go into formation, Reiner looked at Armin and said, "See ya, Armin," and rode off to the right.

Jean glanced at Armin, riding off to the left side of the formation. "If you run into a Titan, don't piss your pants!"

Armin nodded. "Right! Same to you, Jean."

.

.

.

.

In his position of Row 3-4: Relay, Jean continued to ride his horse along with his group, as they followed the smoke signals in the sky. He saw red ones appear near his right, notifying his group that a Titan was located.

He then saw his group leader firing a smoke into the sky. After a few seconds, they saw a green smoke coming from the commander.

"This way," his group leader ordered, and steered his reins towards the left. The rest of the group followed suit in silence, waiting for the next smoke to appear.

After a few minutes passed, Jean wondered what was going on. _Nobody has signaled anything yet. Especially the right flank! What's going on?_

Suddenly, a 7-meter Aberrant Titan appeared a couple of hundred of meters away from his group, running at a fast pace. Jean heard some of his group members curse under their breath and began to question their leader what to do.

"Fire a red smoke!" the leader announced.

While one of his teammates fired a red smoke, Jean began to wondered what happened to the right flank. They were supposed to signal to them if they saw any titans around their area. The aberrant that was running towards them was likely to be seen from the right flank.

_It couldn't have possibly slip through them! Wait, happen-_

Then, a scout from their right began riding his way towards the group. "The right flank recon squad has been partially wiped out! Many fast Titans in their direction, but we are still fighting back! Unfortunately, recon won't be able to serve purpose anymore! Tell the others of the message!"

"Shit!" the leader cursed. "Jean! Move ahead! We will take care of the aberrant! Notify the others about this!"

Jean nodded. "Yes, sir!" Pulling the reins towards the left, he rode off and hoped that he could find the others and tell about the situation that they were in.

.

.

.

.

From far away, he saw a strange Titan, possibly a 15-meter running ahead of two other scouts. Jean couldn't make out who it was, but all he knew was that the Titan slip through the two and they haven't fired a smoke yet.

_Shit. I got to do this myself. Those bastards!_ Clipping the smoke container onto the gun, he lifted up his hand and fired a yellow smoke. He saw the two figures in front of him turn around, and he let out a sign of relief.

It was Reiner and Armin.

Galloping closer to them, Jean informed, "The right flank recon squad was partially wiped out. Titans...a lot of them. I don't know why, but there are lots of fast ones. For now, we're holding them back. But recon is no longer possible." Gritting his teeth, he continued. "We've taken heavy losses, and if we aren't careful, we'll be destroyed!"

Armin stared at him intensely, never lingering his gaze onto something else. "That Titan came from the same direction."

_What?!_ Jean kept his full attention on him.

"No way..." Armin looked ahead of him, caught up in his own thoughts. "Was it leading the Titans?"

Confused, Jean also looked in what was in front of them. "It?"

There in front of them was a Titan running, but its form was too human. If it was any other Titan, it would have run differently, but this had its arms at a steady pace and near its torso. Jean felt his blood run cold.

"Why is a Titan over there?" He glanced at Armin. "An Aberrant?"

Armin tightened his grip on the reins. "No...it's a human in a Titan body...someone with the same ability as Eren."

_No way... There's more?!_ "What?"

Reiner suddenly popped in their conversation. "Why do you think that, Armin?"

After glancing at the other blonde, Armin turned his attention to what was in front of them. "The Titans only eat us. We're just killed in the process. Killing us isn't ever specifically their goal. But when Sys aimed for its weak spot," Armin lowered his head, frustrated with the fact that he couldn't do anything to help avenge their deaths. "It crushed him and smashed him into the ground. It killed him to kill, rather than to eat him." Bobbing his head up and glaring at the Titan before them, Armin continued. "Its nature is different from the others."

Armin suddenly stopped talking, but then Reiner and Jean shared a look with each other and nodded for him to go on with his thoughts.

Nodding, he once again spoke. "When the Colossal and Armored Titans destroyed the walls, it must've been the one that brought that army of Titans." Upset, Armin yelled, "Their goal has consistently been to attack all humanity!" But then the petite boy paused and looked down, consumed in his train of thoughts. "No...maybe not...It felt like it was looking for someone...If that's the case, could it be looking for...could it be looking for Eren?"

_Eren? Why?_ Jean kept his gaze on the Female Titan.

"Eren?" Reiner asked. "Eren's with Squad Levi, which is in charge of the right flank."

_Wait, what?_ Jean suddenly turned to Reiner. "The right flank?! The plans I got had them to the rear of the left flank."

"Mine said they were near the front of the right..." Armin mentioned. "Wait...there's no way they'd be on the front lines."

"So where are they?" Reiner questioned.

Looking at Reiner, Armin guessed, "Probably the safest place in the formation...which means in the center, and toward the rear."

"Armin!" Jean popped in. "There's no time to think. Smoke rounds can't possibly indicate how much of a threat it poses! At this rate, it'll wipe out command. Then...the formation will fall apart, and that'll be the end."

"What are you trying to say?" Reiner wondered.

Looking at him, Jean answered, "In other words, at this range, we may still be be able to draw its attention. We may be able to buy time to withdraw..." He cringed, as he felt the next couple of words that will leave his mouth hard to say. "Maybe...Maybe..."

Before Jean could say it, Armin spoke, "But it really is intelligent. To it, we are nothing but insignificant insects! It'll just crush us, Jean."

In disbelief, Jean smile to himself. "Seriously?" Letting out a chuckle, he said, "That's scary..."

"Hey... are you really Jean?" Reiner teased. "The Jean I know never thinks of anyone but himself."

His smile grew even bigger. "Don't be an ass..." But it suddenly disappeared when Jean saw the Female Titan again, running towards command. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, as a sudden memory of a tiny fragment of charred bones laid in his hand. "I just don't want those charred bones I saw to be disappointed in me!" Taking a pause, Jean raised his head even higher and proclaimed to them, "I...I know what I have to do now! And this is the job we chose. Help me!"

Stunned, his other two comrades remained quiet, as Reiner glanced at the Female Titan while Armin kept his eyes locked with Jean's. Breaking away from his stare, Armin lifted his hood and put it over his head. "Put on your hood. As far forward as you can so that your face is hidden from it. I don't think it will kill us until it knows who we are!"

Reiner smirked, as he put up his hood too. "You believe if it thinks we might be Eren, it won't kill us? It nothing else, it'll make me feel better. Let's hope it has poor eyesight!"

Jean couldn't believe it what he was hearing. "Armin, I thought it was creepy how you always clung to Eren." But he soon flashed a smirk of his own, copying them. "But I've always thought you had it in you."

Armin looked at Jean. "Uh...thanks...But 'creepy'? That's really mean..."

The other men beside him let out a chuckle in response. Looking at one another, they all nodded and distanced themselves to cover more ground. Jean took the left while Armin moved to the right, as Reiner remained in the middle. Noticing the space between all of them, Jean soon began to worry. Images of being separated from any teammates flashed in his head.

**_"Trust me."_ **

Jean gulped. He almost felt like trembling when those words rang in his head. But when he looked up and saw the Female Titan getting closer each second, Jean let out a breath. _Listen up... Remember what I said...Try to draw its attention for as long as possible to give the formation some time to withdraw! Keep it here as long as you can._ He felt sweat drop from his forehead down to his cheeks. _If we could cut its Achilles tendon, that'd be more than enough._ He tightened his hold on the handgrips of his 3DMG. _But don't do anything stupid...Don't try to kill it!_

Pulling out his blades, Jean stared at the danger to on his right. Lifting the handgrip to his lips, he kissed the hand he held those charred bones he made a promise to. _I won't let you down._

Lifting himself on top of his horse, Jean jumped up and aimed his grapple-hooks at the Female Titan's ankle. Once it shot out, he heard it cling against its ankle, turning around and getting ready to attack. His mouth dropped, as he thought it would have worked. Seeing its hand move towards his direction, Jean quickly landed on the ground to embrace the wind heading his way.

What he didn't expect was for the titan to knock Armin off his horse, causing him to roll a long distance away from Jean.

Jean soon saw flashes of dead bodies in his mind. One particularly with drained blood, almost half his face missing, and no longer the man he used to be, Jean felt his blood rush towards his brain. He needed to move, now.

Getting on his feet, he sprinted towards his fallen friend. _No, not again. Not on my orders. It won't happen!_

He saw the Female Titan kneeling down next to Armin, staring at him. Jean quickened his pace, hoping that he would be close enough to have one of his grapple-hooks stick to the Titan.

_NOW!_ "Armin!" Jumping, he pressed the handle and aimed for its upper back. Jean almost smiled when he saw his hook stuck onto the Titan perfectly, allowing him to propel himself above ground. But, the Titan turned around.

His eyes widened. _This one...Its movements are much more precise than the others are! Damn it_. When the Female Titan moved and faced in his direction, his hook fell, causing Jean to aim somewhere on its legs to avoid the arm swinging at him. Feeling himself flying, he saw the arm pass right above his head, as he dodged it. He pressed the trigger harder to access more gas, allowing himself to move up so he could stick a hook into its neck. Once he was at the right angle, he was ready to shoot. But suddenly, the Titan covered its neck. Jean gasped, but he couldn't stop himself shooting a hook into its neck. As the hook stabbed the Female Titan right underneath its hand, he began to contemplate on his decision.

_It protected its neck..._

"Jean!" Reiner shouted, but it fell on deaf ears.

_Damn it! I can't get away!_ He felt chills being sent down his spine when he made eye contact with the titan. He couldn't move. He felt as if he frozen in place. It was as if those crystal, blue eyes were smirking at him. As if they were teasing his decisions, that he once again made a bad choice. That finally, perhaps, this was his payback for making so many bad choices in his life that caused the pain or even the death to others.

_I'm going to die!_ Jean saw it clench its fist. _Once it grasps my wire, it's over!_ All he saw was a gigantic hand grasping his wire, and swinging him like a doll towards its other hand.

"Jean!" Armin screamed.

"Avenge the bastard-"

It was too late. Jean's vision soon became consumed with darkness, as the Female Titan enclosed its hand on his whole body. _I'm sorry for being such a disappointment, Marco. I couldn't even take this bitch down._ Then, he felt an excruciating pain all over his body, and Jean couldn't feel anything after that.

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_**"Jean!"**_ someone called out.

He noticed that he wasn't in pain.

**_"Hey! Jean!"_ **

Regaining his consciousness, he wondered if he was in the afterlife. _What's going on?_

**_"Jean! We're going to be late!"_ **

_Late?_

**_"Ugh, come on. Get up!"_ **

_Wait, that voice._

**_"Jean! Jean! JEAN!"_ **

He knew that voice, and everything seemed too familiar, as if he heard this all before.

Jean's eyes felt heavy, but forced himself to open them. When his vision came together, he saw that he was on wooden floor with his head aching from pain. Jean stopped breathing while his heart skipped a beat when he realized where he was. _Why...Why am I back here?_ Then, it dawned on him that he was behind him. Frightened out of his mind, Jean gulped and turned around only to see someone straight out of the grave, but fully alive with colored cheeks, covered with freckles.

"M-Marco?"

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I hope you guys enjoyed it! I seriously love the relationship between Jean and Marco, and the picture that I saw on Tumblr truly inspired me to make this story! Once again, review and stay tune! Leave comments, kudos, bookmarks, or whatever! 

 


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